Up the Water Spout

I’m one of those people who wanders around the house, obsessively turning lights off. My obsession competes with the opposing impulses of someone who, disliking things that go bump in the night, tends to leave them on. The delicate and ever-shifting balance of power in this ongoing conflict is currently being upset by a third party: a huntsman spider, who has chosen to share our toilet with us these past few days. It’s a selective creature: it hasn’t yet introduced itself to me. It’s apparently not quite as large as the creature in this photo – although it certainly looms large enough in the imaginations of members of the household. I somewhat suspect that, even once it is no longer with us, the ghost of its presence will continue to haunt our discussion over whether lights in disused portions of the house are best left on…

2 responses to “Up the Water Spout”

lol – good question. When I was a child in Texas, one of the places I stayed had tarantulas – big fuzzy black ones that made burrows on either side of the path leading from the door to the mailbox. They would skittle across the path in the mornings. They’re not particularly dangerous, although they bite, and I have not-so-fond memories of being sent out to check the mail, in bare feet, and having to leap over the things en route… ;-P Our resident huntsman is much more shy – with me, at least…

The huntsman’s like the Texas tarantulas – not dangerous – just looks wicked and will bite if you frighten it. We do, though, have some more frightening ones.